


Carbon Fiber

by DoctorQui



Series: walking 'cross the campus [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Archery Fic, Fluff, I had too much fun writing this, Jesse would be such a terrible student honestly he has all the marks of the Problem Child (tm), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 05:04:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9107755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorQui/pseuds/DoctorQui
Summary: After weeks of asking, Hanzo finally caves in to Jesse's request to teach him how to shoot. However, archery isn't as easy as he initially thought.





	

Jesse stared up at the door to the athletic center, shifting his weight. He was on time, nine o’clock on the dot, and had even managed to doll himself up a bit. But his guts were still twisted so tight he could barely stand. 

 

He took a deep breath, counting slowly to five before letting it back out. There was no need to be this nervous. He’d insisted on this, there was nothing wrong. He could do this. He could  _ do _ this. Steeling himself, Jesse pushed open the door and strode in. 

 

Upon reaching the archery range, however, he stopped right in his tracks.

 

When describing Hanzo Shimada, pretty was a word that came to mind. Gorgeous was another, and so was beautiful, attractive, and so many other words that could never do him justice.

 

In that instant, Jesse could only think of one word:  _ captivating.  _

 

Hanzo wiped a drop of sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand, heaving a long sigh. His hair was down, hanging low around his face as he stretched. He held his left arm extended to the floor while bringing his right to hook under his chin, all while balancing on the tips of his toes. His bow was placed off to the side of the range. If the intense look of concentration on Hanzo’s face was any indication, he’d been doing this for awhile now. 

 

Jesse stood, transfixed. He didn’t want to move for fear of ending the moment. He couldn’t bring himself to take his eyes off the muscles of Hanzo’s back, which were slowly beginning to quake with effort. 

 

Fortunately, he didn’t have to do anything--after a moment, Hanzo collapsed to the finished wood floor, panting. He took a moment to gather his breath before flipping upright, his hair dramatically following the arc of his body. He turned towards the door and let a tired smile come to his lips.

 

“Ah, you are here. Give me a moment, I was just finishing up.” Hanzo stood, stretching his arms wide above his head. Jesse thanked every god and deity out there that his boyfriend decided to wear a tank top today--his biceps were absolutely  _ heavenly _ . 

 

In his stupor, Jesse entirely forgot to reply. It took several seconds of awkward silence and a raised eyebrow on Hanzo’s part before he got the message, stuttering, “Oh! Yeah, yeah, um. I’ll give you a mo’. Take your time darlin’, no rush. You’re the master here n’ all.” He laughed, breathless, giddy. Part of him still couldn’t believe Hanzo had agreed to this. 

 

Hanzo chuckled and made his way across the range to the equipment room, disappearing inside briefly. He emerged with a simple wooden bow, a recurve like his, as well as a traffic cone stuffed with multiple arrows. The fletchings on the end were red and gold, Jesse noted with no small amount of amusement. 

 

“If you are ready, we will begin. First I need you to hold out your arms and stay still.” Hanzo plucked an arrow from the cone and came to stand in front of Jesse, barely containing a wide smile. Jesse did as told, holding both arms out to their full length. Hanzo placed the end of the arrow--the notch, Jesse had heard him call it--to his chest and carefully brought Jesse’s hands to encase the arrow. Jesse would never tire of the feeling of Hanzo’s hands, small and beautiful, but also firm and calloused. After a moment, Hanzo nodded and prompted Jesse to let his arms fall, returning the arrow to the cone.

 

“Alright, the arrows are the right size. Now, do you remember the safety procedures?” 

 

Jesse nodded. They’d gone over this before meeting up at the range--it was all fairly simple. Don’t step over the shooting line until everyone is clear. Don’t stand directly behind the target when pulling arrows. Don’t point the arrows at anyone. Let down immediately when the rangemaster calls ceasefire. Respond to rangemaster commands.

 

In short: don’t be an idiot, don’t be an asshole. He was fairly good at that...most of the time.

 

“Good,” Hanzo hummed, removing two pieces of equipment from his pockets. “Armguard and finger tab. To protect your arm and fingers from the string--wear them, Jesse, do not try to argue that you do not need it. Even I wear them. Here is a sling as well, to hold the bow.” He slid the tab onto Jesse’s right hand, the sling around his left, and the guard up his left arm, checking to ensure everything fit snugly. 

 

“Whatever you say, sweetums. Y’could dress me up like a show pony and I’d still trust you.” Jesse grinned, giving Hanzo a wink. He responded with a snort, adjusting the equipment further. They felt strange, that was for sure; the guard made it difficult for him to bend his elbow how he wanted and his fingers felt so clunky with the tabs on. Still, Hanzo was the expert, so Jesse kept his mouth shut. 

 

“Let me know if the string hits you at any point, alright? You will know--it hurts quite a bit.”

 

“Sure thing, doll.” Jesse grinned at him lopsidedly while bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, eager to actually begin. Hanzo rolled his eyes and turned, leading Jesse over towards the line. 

 

“Mirror me, Jesse.” Hanzo got into position on the line next to Jesse, who followed suit. Feet shoulder width apart, one on either side of the line. Bow in the left hand, holding the string in the right. Arrow notched right below the golden bead, gold fletching out to the left, one finger above the arrow and two fingers below. 

 

“”M afraid I can’t quite capture your beauty, honey, but I think I got it. This right, Han?” Jesse turned his head, tilting it towards the bow. 

 

“Incorrigible flirt. Though your form is very good.” Hanzo smiled and set his own bow down. He moved slightly behind Jesse, observing closely. “Now you can draw. Remember, anchor the string at your nose and your hand under your jaw. Left eye closed.” 

 

“Sure thing. Anchor at the nose and jaw, left eye closed…” Jesse mumbled, picking the bow up fully and beginning to draw the string back. It proved to be a challenge--how damn taut was this thing, holy hell! Hanzo’d said he was starting him out on a fairly easy bow, but there was no way that could be true. Jesse eventually managed to get to full draw, but by then Hanzo laid a hand softly on his and forced him to put down the bow. 

 

“What’s wrong? Ain’t I did it just like you said?” He balked, confused.

 

Hanzo put his hands on his hips and looked up at Jesse. “Yes, but you took too long. Try to achieve full draw in two seconds. Otherwise your muscles will get too tired and you will be less accurate.” 

 

Jesse sighed, turning back to the bow. “Right. Sure thing. Two seconds.” He took a deep breath before raising the bow and trying again. He more or less managed to do as Hanzo said, pulling the string back and anchoring. From there he matched the string up with his right eye and aimed at the target before letting the string slip out of his fingers, the arrow flying forward and connecting with a satisfying  _ thwap.  _ Jesse grinned, delighted, but his expression soured upon seeing where the arrow had landed. It wasn’t even  _ on  _ the target--it was in the white paper outside, nowhere close to the center he’d aimed for. 

 

“I await your second shot, Jesse.” Hanzo reminded him, gently prodding with his foot. 

 

With a nod, Jesse continued, firing arrow after arrow. It was tiring, extremely so, but he kept at it at Hanzo’s insistence, even though his arrows were all over the board. After he’d shot a good amount, Hanzo called the line clear and the two of them went to retrieve his arrows. This was where Jesse encountered his second major difficulty--pulling them out of the target. They were stubborn as all get out. It took Jesse shoving his whole body against the target as a counterweight to eventually dislodge them. Hanzo stood off to the side during this process, a hand at his lips, poorly stifling his laughter. Jesse shot him a glare; he would’ve been pissed if Hanzo’s laugh wasn’t so damn cute. 

 

They returned to the shooting line for another round (called an  _ end, _ Hanzo reminded him). Shoot, form adjustments from Hanzo, grab the arrows, rinse and repeat. Jesse made it to the fifth end before letting the bow down with a frustrated groan.

 

“What the hell, Han? I’ve been shootin’ just like you told me to, you’ve even been helpin’ me adjust, but my shit’s all over the place! I thought this’d be less...y’know…” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair and wincing when it caught in the finger tab. 

 

“Complex? Yes, many often do. It looks so easy in the movies.” Hanzo chuckled and reached forward, easily untangling Jesse’s hair. “It takes more than one session to make a consistent group, Jesse. Archery is a difficult sport to pick up, even more difficult to master. Your main problem is that your arm is unsteady, something not easily remedied. Here, I will show you.” He moved so that he was standing at Jesse’s back before wrapping his arms around him carefully. “Go ahead.” 

 

Though his ears heated at the sudden proximity, Jesse swallowed and did as told. He raised the bow, same as always, but here Hanzo stepped in. His arm came up to support Jesse’s, solid and warm, the dragon’s eyes on his arm strong and unwavering. His fingers enclosed around Jesse’s on the string, tugging them apart into a more even position and pulling back. Time seemed to slow down; Jesse could feel Hanzo against his back, his muscles stretching with the movement. His breath huffed softly against Jesse’s neck in measured time and sent a shiver up his spine. He barely even registered that Hanzo was speaking to him, whispering, until suddenly the pressure was gone and Jesse jerked his hand off the string with a sharp sound. 

 

The arrow flew far off to the right, and Jesse’s left arm erupted in pain. He let out a startled yelp, bending over at the waist and clutching at his elbow. Hanzo removed the sling and bow from Jesse’s hand quickly, gently grabbing his arm. 

 

“Let me see, Jesse,” he spoke, voice unusually soft. With a nod, Jesse moved his hand out of the way. Hanzo clicked his tongue. The string had snapped against his arm harshly, leaving a large red spot and a small welt beginning to well up with blood. Jesse stared at the injury with wide eyes--while the initial lash had hurt, he didn’t expect for it to look so terrible. 

 

“How in the sam hell did that happen?” He wondered, allowing Hanzo to gently poke around the wound.

 

“You got distracted, cowman,” he chided, grabbing onto Jesse’s upper arm and dragging him over to the edge of the range. There he opened the first aid kit on the wall and wrapped Jesse’s arm up quickly and methodically, long since used to this. When he was done he took out an ice pack and pressed it into Jesse’s hands. “Place this on your elbow, it will help with the swelling. I believe we should stop for now, as your arm will be weaker now that it is injured. I told you to be careful.” He sighed, hands on his hips. 

 

Jesse pouted, but broke the ice pack. “Well shit, I done gone and ruined this, didn’t I? Sorry Han, this shit’s much harder than I gave you credit for. Guess you win this round.” He grinned sheepishly, foot scuffing at the ground.

 

“Don’t be so down on yourself, Jesse. You were a fine student. You simply lack patience.” Hanzo patted his cheek twice, softly, his eyes sparkling. Hanzo was a strict coach, giving short orders and specific critiques, but Jesse could tell he truly enjoyed it. 

 

“Maybe, but y’know, I  _ am _ still injured. I think I need a lil’ somethin’ to make it better, yeah?” He waggled his eyebrows, using the few inches between them to hover over his boyfriend.

 

Hanzo merely rolled his eyes in response and reached over to lay a quick kiss on Jesse’s elbow. Jesse expected him to stop there, but Hanzo kept going, layering his entire arm in light kisses from bottom to top, making his way up his shoulder and neck until their lips met. The kiss was unbearably sweet, Hanzo’s lips soft against his. Jesse felt himself go weak at the knees. Hanzo always knew how to make him melt. 

 

“Is that better, Jesse?” Hanzo pulled away with a small grin, tucking a piece of his hair behind his ear. 

 

“Much, darlin’. Don’t know what I’d do without you.” Jesse leaned his forehead against Hanzo’s, content to just bask in the feeling for as long as they could. 

 

The moment had to end at some point though. Hanzo pulled away with a soft huff and gently guided the ice pack to Jesse’s elbow, laying another kiss on his knuckles. “Let’s go back home, hmm? You deserve some rest.”

 

“Sure thing, buttercup.” Jesse smiled and leaned forward to smooch Hanzo’s forehead. “Next time though, it’s my turn.”

 

“Oh? And what does that entail?” Hanzo questioned, eyebrow raised. 

 

“Well darlin’, by the time I’m through, you’re gonna be an absolute  _ master _ at ridin’ horses.”

 

Hanzo laughed, short and sweet. “I certainly look forward to it.”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! As a longtime archer and archery instructor, this fic was an absolute blast for me to write. I tried to tone down a lot of the technical terms and stuff to make it readable, but I still feel like I geeked out a lot with it haha. Also the stretch Hanzo was doing in the beginning is called an archery plank and it's HELL. Seriously, admire that man. I don't know what poundage Storm Bow is but hot damn. 
> 
> A huge huge huge thank you to my ever lovely beta [Mango](archiveofourown.org/users/MalevolentMango)! Killing my gratuitous italics and generally making my fics so much better, I owe a whole lot to you <33
> 
> A special thank you as well to the McHanzo Discord! Y'all are so supportive, bless your hearts.
> 
> As always, find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/tsoleille) or [tumblr](schrodingerslion.tumblr.com)! I love chatting with people and I'm always taking prompts. 
> 
> Have a good one guys! And if you do decide to pick up archery, please, wear an arm guard and listen to your instructor. They know what they're doing ;0


End file.
